AuthorTopic: WiFi help needed (Read 2322 times)

My parents have a BT HH5 located in their study which is in one corner of their house downstairs. It is a very large & old 6 bedroom house with really thick solid internal walls and subsequently the WiFi signal only gets as far as the 2/3 adjacent rooms and the bedroom above. This leaves over 2 thirds of the house with no WiFi signal at all.

Now some will recall that I was in the fortunate position to be able to run Cat5 around my entire house whilst it was undergoing some serious renovation and I now have 3 x BT HH5's giving me excellent coverage in all areas of my house - a new Cat5 network ISN'T currently possible in my parents' house unfortunately

What are my options to extend/improve the WiFi coverage? I have heard talks of WiFi extenders (is there such a thing, do they work?) and other things like HomePlugs as an alternative to running Cat5 network cabling.

Would appreciate some comments regarding the pros and cons of the various solutions and advice on bits of kit that would fit the bill.

You could try a "mesh" WiFi setup. Apparently, they can work well in your sort of situation though I have no personal experience. Here's a link to some reviews.

"Designed to blanket your home with wireless coverage, Wi-Fi systems are a hybrid of sorts, made up of several networking components. There's a main router that connects directly to your modem, and a series of satellite modules, or nodes, that you place throughout your house. They are all part of a single wireless network, and share the same SSID and password."

Am I correct in thinking that something like this won't allow me to 'daisy chain' the router and 2 of these?

Like my sketch attached I wondered if I could use the WiFi signal from a range extender to provide signal a second range extender, but from your explanations I think I may have to invest in a more expensive 'mesh' WiFi set up.

The problem with powerline adaptors is that they put RF signals into the mains wiring, which is unscreened and untwisted. So they create another source of interference, which can potentially affect your DSL connection, or your neighbours' connections.

Am I correct in thinking that something like this won't allow me to 'daisy chain' the router and 2 of these?

Like my sketch attached I wondered if I could use the WiFi signal from a range extender to provide signal a second range extender, but from your explanations I think I may have to invest in a more expensive 'mesh' WiFi set up.

Again appreciate your comments!

Being no WiFi expert I think it is possible (never tried) but my understanding is that you'll suffer greater reduction in speed using multiple extenders. Mesh networks don't suffer to the same degree which is their primary advantage. Maybe someone with greater experience can offer something more concrete.

EDIT: Meshes also use a single SSID whereas you'll have to fake it when using multiple repeaters as they are separate networks. EDIT: Some manual configuration/experimenting might be necessary

Range extenders/repeaters can easily be configured to use a single SSID, with automatic roaming between them. If it's all the same chipset manufacturer you can also set up WDS.

Many powerlines adaptors have a detrimental impact on VDSL signals. However certain brands seem to be much better.For example BT's current powerline offering makes 100% no difference to my line. Not even the tiniest increase in FEC/ES etc.An old set of TP-Link Powerline adapters took a few mb off my sync, and caused a massive increase in FEC, resulting in higher ES. When in use FEC numbers jumped from circa 1000/min to 50000+/min

From a bit of research I've done it seems really easy to change the SSID & password, works with other kit quite well, was appropriately priced and seems to be the kind of thing I'm after. Also another bonus is that additional repeaters are available to purchase and it can handle up to 8 repeaters - so I have the scope to cover their house satisfactorarily!

Only time will tell now whether or not there will be an impact on their ADSL sync speeds - I trust not..... (Incidentally, do HomePlugs affect ADSL in the same way as VDSL?)

Only time will tell now whether or not there will be an impact on their ADSL sync speeds - I trust not..... (Incidentally, do HomePlugs affect ADSL in the same way as VDSL?)

To give some form of answer to your question, I will say "yes, in the same way" but then qualify my answer with "but not to the same extent".

An xDSL circuit uses a pair of radio frequency transceivers at either end of the circuit, operating in differential mode. HomePlugs use radio frequency transceivers and make use of the mains wiring. The same mains wiring that provides the power to the xDSL modem/router, typically via a switching-mode PSU.

I've installed the BT Hotspot 600 last night and was met with cries of "this is awesome" from parents & brothers..........!! (Pat on back for z1ts!)

There was no noticeable deterioration the ADSL sync speed, but only time will tell whether it stays that way.

'Cloning' the SSID & password was incredibly easy and very straightforward - now there are 3 WAPs in the house all with the same SSID & password and the devices (normally) swich between them fairly easily.

With the dual band WiFi of the HH5 and these 2 Hotspots, there's good coverage in the majority of the house and adequate coverage in the whole house.

Obviously your choice, but personally I prefer to have different SSIDs for all my WAPs. That way it is immediately obvious which one you are connected to. Devices wil switch between them in exactly the same manner regardless of whether SSIDs are cloned or different.

@licquorice - yes I fully understand the advantage of having separate SSID's, however as this isn't my network but one I have to set up and manage mostly remotely and sometimes on a quick 'drive-by' visit it works better to have 1 SSID & 1 password for the whole property!

Trying to get the household members and any visitors/guests to connect to 1 network is difficult enough without giving them 3 to connect to

So yes - I'd have separate SSID's but in this scenario it works better for all concerned to have just 1!!!